Matthew Tully: Indiana kids need to be in school at age 5, says Glenda Ritz

Feb. 26, 2013

Amid a fury of education policy changes and debates in this and past years, Glenda Ritz says it is ridiculous that Indiana has not addressed the most fundamental piece of the education puzzle: getting kids in school. / Kelly Wilkinson / The Star

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It’s one of those laws that makes you wonder if Indiana really is serious about tackling its education problems.

The law frustrates and confounds by not requiring children in the state to attend school until the year they turn the ripe old age of 7, which is nearly middle-aged by elementary school standards. And as much as educators, experts and just about everyone else complains about it, the law has proven to have a remarkable ability to withstand any effort to change it.

This year, for instance, the Senate declined to even debate a bill to require kids to be in school, or homeschooled, if they are 5 years old before the school year starts. The lack of such a reasonable standard sets Indiana apart from most other states, and not in a good way, at a time when lawmakers and the governor insist that Indiana must improve its education status in order to compete in the current economy.

“It’s sad,” new Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz said as she sat in her office the other day. “What’s the barrier? There shouldn’t be one. It’s driving me crazy.”

Amid a fury of education policy changes and debates in this and past years, it is ridiculous, said Ritz, that Indiana has not addressed the most fundamental piece of the education puzzle: getting kids in school. Without addressing such a basic part of the law, she said, efforts to create a state-funded preschool pilot program are “putting the cart before the horse.”

The frustrating thing is, this is a problem that could be easily fixed. Unlike so many other education challenges, this one really could be overcome simply by passing a law. It wouldn’t have to be a long one. Or a complicated one. It would just have to say that kindergarten is mandatory and lower the age at which children need to be in school – or, yes, homeschooled – to 5.

The data on the scope of this issue are less than scientific, but the state estimates that roughly 2,600 5-year-olds didn’t attend kindergarten during the 2011-2012 school year. That’s about 4 percent of children that age in the state. The only good news is that the number is down from about 14 percent two decades ago. And it’s likely to go down further now that the state is finally ready to fund all-day kindergarten.

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Still, it’s a problem, particularly for those kids who aren’t getting the reading and social skills they need outside of school.

“We’re supposed to do the miracle work of making sure they can read at grade level by third grade,” said Ritz, a longtime educator before taking office this year. “But if they don’t show up till they are 7, they’re two years behind on the day they walk through the door.”

The issue bumps into concerns about parental rights, as some argue that only a parent should decide when their child is ready to go to school. But the real issue should be parental responsibility: If you have a child, your job is to make sure they are getting educated. And if they arrive at school unprepared, they are not the only ones who suffer. Others students in their classes do, too.

There is a bit of hope. Ritz said she will use the bully pulpit of her position by grading schools and districts in part on how aggressively they reach out to the families of toddlers. Even without a mandate, she said, schools can work hard to convince parents to send their kids to school.

Meanwhile, House Education Chairman Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, said he is considering tucking an amendment into a bill in the coming weeks that would mandate kindergarten. Without such a mandate, he said, schools have little power to do anything about the companion problem of kindergarteners who are enrolled but miss school frequently.

“Some kids get into a bad habit very early,” he said.

Indiana has gotten into its own bad habit. It too often lets bad laws stay on the books. Kicking that habit, and starting with this law, would be a great idea.